On Aug. 7, ASG hosted a special event at the Dolby Cinema at 1275 Market in San Francisco to showcase the latest technology updates to Dolby Atmos, the company’s revolutionary spatial audio system for film and television production. Produced in conjunction with Dolby, Avid, and Meyer Sound, the event featured presentations by Ioan Allen, senior vice president for Dolby Laboratories, and Chris Kukshtel, director of Dolby’s U.S. Cinema Business Group. Eric Kuehnl, an audio technologist and educator, discussed Avid’s Dolby Atmos Production Suite as well as Dolby’s Atmos Mastering Suite & RMU options.

One of the highlights of the evening was ASG president Dave Van Hoy’s panel discussion with Richard Beggs, who won the Academy Award for Best Sound in 1979 for the film classic Apocalypse Now, and Skywalker Sound/Zoetrope sound designer/rerecording mixer Pete Horner, who created the Dolby Atmos version of the film. The event concluded with a screening of Apocalypse Now: Final Cut. The new version was restored from the original print and remastered in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for the film’s 40th anniversary.

“Dolby Atmos moves the audio experience forward beyond traditional surround sound for home, mobile, and cinema,” said Van Hoy. “It was amazing to see and hear the remastered version of this classic film in one of the best theaters in the world.”